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Southern Objects

Jon Eric Riis (American, born 1945), designer and maker, Insect Icon Tapestry, 2005–2006, metallic and silk thread tapestry with the addition of freshwater pearls, coral, and turquoise beads sewn on leather, purchase with funds from the Fraser-Parker Foundation in memory of Nancy Fraser Parker who loved the decorative arts, 2009.7.

The High’s Decorative Arts and Design department collects works made in the American South, including early nineteenth-century fine furniture and silver; ceramics, wood, and textiles, including key quilts by Ruth Clement Bond, Wini McQueen, and Jessie Telfair; Southern vernacular forms, such as pie safes, slab tables, baskets, and Southern alkaline-glazed stoneware, including vessels by David Drake; Southern studio craft, especially through gifts by Martha and Pat Connell; and works by contemporary makers including Jon Eric Riis and Julia Woodman.